Saturday 13 November 2010

An interesting day out.









Today the sun has been kind to us and my friend, G, and I decided to have another day out and go over into Cumbria to see an exhibition of the work of the embroiderer, Alice Kettle. The exhibition was in Farfield Mill, a converted mill building on the Eastern edge of Cumbria, at the foot of the Howgill hills, where they join the Yorkshire Dales. It is a pleasant journey through the complete Wensleydale - and with the sun being low in the sky it showed the hills and dales up to perfection.

The exhibition? Well, I have the greatest respect and admiration for Kettle's work, she is a master at the human figure and its portrayal in machine embroidery. However, she has moved on. I know that artists have to keep moving on and exploring new ideas, but I didn't like her new exhibition "Allegory" as much as her earlier work. But because I know she is capable of the most excellent stitch, I had to see her 'sloppy' stitching as a deliberate act and it took some getting used ot. But I am glad I saw it, it was certainly food for thought. Sadly photography was forbidden, so I can;t show you any of the works. But I am sure she has a web site if you are interested in looking into it further.

We had an excellent soup and sandwich lunch in the cafe and then set off on our return journey through Dentdale. I took some photographs from the car as we went along. Where there is a viaduct there is the Carlisle to Settle railway, and the little village with the narrow street is the village of Dent itself. The river is the river Dee.

Back home again late afternoon and now we have to go out to a party tonight. The weather is clear and very cold, so we don't feel like turning out. Have a good weekend.

Photos left to right top to bottom:

Dentdale farm and viaduct. Dent Viaduct.
Dent village. River Dee running through Dentdale.
Farfield Mill. Dentdale.
Mill beck from upper window. Top floor of mill showing old looms.

19 comments:

Heather said...

What a beautiful journey you had Pat - the scenery is wonderful. I have to say I have never been able to appreciate Alice Kettle's work although I know she is highly acclaimed but I'm glad you enjoyed the exhibition and your friend's company. Enjoy the party tonight as well.

Nancy Grossi ~ Churned In Cali ~ The Wife of a Dairyman said...

What a busy day you've had. I love all the photos...just beautiful area where you live:) Have a great time at the party tonight!

MorningAJ said...

Wow what a lovely day you had. Glad you enjoyed yourself!

Anonymous said...

I added myself to follow your blog. You are more than welcome to visit mine and become a follower if you want to.

God Bless You :-)

~Ron

angryparsnip said...

Wonderful photos !
it seems your journey are as lovely as the destinations.

cheers, parsnip

Pondside said...

I love the photos from your day - the landscape and townscape are so different from anything over here.

Jeannette StG said...

You're busy these days...well enjoy it till the frost sets in! Have a great rest of the weekend!

George said...

Glad you had a lovely day, Pat, notwithstanding your disappointment with the exhibition. I climber Dent Fell during my walk across England, but don't recall seeing a village named "Dent."

Arija said...

You are becoming quite the gadabout Pat. To commitment on the grand scale in one day? At the very least it is telling m that your body is behaving itself. Lovely photos of your outing and I hope you really enjoy the party.

Totalfeckineejit said...

Beautiful scenery/photos. I'm sure I've been to Settlein the past. Or maybe it was the future!What a great name for a place.

steven said...

ahhh weaver that view up dentdale - sigh. steven

Peter Goulding said...

Lets hope Ms Kettle hasn't run out of steam. What fantastic countryside.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you for reading my blog yesterday. I am glad you enjoyed the pictures of Dentdale - many people think it is the most beautiful of all the dales. Dent itself is a dear little village and has several 'sons' who achieved fame - notably Adam Sedgewick, the Geologist - who is commemorated in the market place there.
The Kettle exhibition was interesting, to say the least. I love Peter's comment above- do read it if you haven't already done so.

Dartford Warbler said...

It is years since we visited Dentdale. Thank you for more good memories. I always marvel at the construction of those great viaducts that were built by the toil of the Victorian navvies.

Dave King said...

Excellent post. Excellent travelogue of the day and then the exhibition... I know that feeling so well of seeing the work of a once-admired artist who has moved on during the intervening ears. Mind you, you can get to admire them all over again sometimes - though it may take time.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful scenery. Like heather, Alice Kettle is not a favourite of mine but it was interesting to visit her website and see her new direction. Glad that you were able to enjoy the exhibition though.

Golden West said...

I'd never heard of Alice Kettle - thanks for the intro, Weaver. I tend to embroider the traditional Craftsman and whiplashy art nouveau designs myself, but it's always interesting to see where others are taking their needle and thread!

Your scenery is divine and I was delighted to ride along - thanks!

Reader Wil said...

She has a website indeed and , seeing her work for the first time, I must say that I agree with you:"This is great". The colours are beautiful and the composition is perfect.

Granny Sue said...

Such beautiful photos, Weaver. The scenery shots look so very like West Virginia, no wonder so many English settled in these hills.